The Revenue has lost an appeal against a High Court order requiring it to discover to RTÉ documents held by Customs and Excise related to the involvement of a high-level Garda informer in drug-smuggling operations.
RTÉ has sought the documents for its defence of a libel action brought by the informer – now in the witness protection programme – who claims he was named in a Prime Time investigation despite a pre-broadcast promise not to do so.
The High Court in 2007 ordered the Revenue and Garda to provide certain documents to RTÉ but the Revenue appealed that order.
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie, giving the three-judge Supreme Court’s decision yesterday, dismissed the appeal.
He said the case related to an action against RTÉ in which the man claimed he was libelled in the broadcast, including by claims he diverted quantities of smuggled drug consignments for his own advantage despite being an informer.
Criminal gang
He said the
Prime Time
programme covering the activities of a criminal gang in 1995 and 1996 was given intense publicity leading to the Garda intervening before broadcast.
Just before it started, RTÉ announced that for security reasons, it had been deemed necessary to remove at late notice images and references to a “key individual” (the informer).
Despite this, the man was identified three times during transmission and his image was also used, the judge said.
After he brought legal proceedings, RTÉ pleaded justification and denied words used in the programme contained the meanings alleged by the informer, with the exception of a reference to him diverting drugs for his own advantage.
The judge noted that the informer said he was approached in 1995 by an individual with a view to getting involved in drug- running from the Netherlands to Ireland. He approached gardaí, told them of what was intended and was then recruited as an informer, he said.
Between 1995 and 1996, he made 10 trips to the Netherlands, ostensibly as part of the gang but in reality in furtherance of his arrangement with gardaí, it was claimed.
On one of the trips, gardaí learned Customs and Excise officers were about to arrest him bringing in 20,000 ecstasy tablets. After discussion between various State agencies, it was agreed gardaí would prevent this happening, he claimed.
For the appearance of reality to the gang, a Garda checkpoint was put up after he arrived and he was told to crash his car through the barriers, dump the car and escape, which was what happened, he said.
On his ninth trip, he was stopped by Customs at a ferry port. While a heated discussion took place between a plainclothes garda and the Customs official, the garda told him to drive off. He was followed by other cars and it was only after gardaí took over the driving and the car was driven around the Dublin mountains for several hours, they lost the pursuers.
RTÉ sought discovery in relation to those matters against the Garda and Revenue. The High Court rejected arguments that such discovery was oppressive and only the Revenue appealed that decision.
Pleaded privilege
The Garda pleaded privilege over certain documents it was required to discover, claiming that would put lives of persons mentioned in them at risk.
The Revenue claimed the information was sensitive and confidential and access to it could gravely prejudice free flow of information between gardaí and Customs and could interfere with the witness protection programme.